Sunday, August 5, 2012

The Thrilling Sequel to the Liebster Award: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.

Almost a year ago, I was generously bequeathed the Liebster Award by the ever gracious Rachel at The Girl With the White Parasol. Now the delightful Rianna of Frankly, My Dear, who along with Natalie from In The Mood dreamed up the Great Recasting Blogathon I just took part in, has nominated me anew. Super swell of her, no?

But life changes. Everything eventually evolves into something deeper, more complex, more disturbing yet somehow compelling.

So in other words, there are some new rules this time around. Such as:

* You have to endure me telling you eleven things about myself.

*Then I answer eleven questions from my nominator, i.e., Rianna.

*In turn, I tag eleven bloggers.

*...And then I hand off eleven questions from off the top of my own fevered brain!

In case you didn't notice, eleven is the watchword, dear friends.

First things first, a terrifying glimpse into my inner workings with:

11 Things About Me

1. I hate driving.

2. I used to have the first chapter of Lolita memorized. Don't know if I still do. "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo. Lee. Ta. The tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps"--Eh, life's too damn short.

3. I hate math.

4. Not a coffee drinker. Nor a tea drinker. More of an Ovaltine kind of gal.

5. I've become obsessed with Robsten. With laughing at Robsten. Which leads me to no.6:

6. I can indulge hardcore in schadenfreude.

7. I'm having a really hard time writing about movies lately, because I don't get TCM, and Netflix has become a real pain in the ass. And frankly, there are no video stores around anymore. That's why I've devoted a lot of my recent posts to blogathons and quizzes and lovely awards such as these until I can sit down, watch a bunch of stuff, and get inspired to write again.

8. Darryl Hannah in Splash could be the first movie character I ever pretended to be. I'd sit in the bathtub as a child and tell everyone that I was becoming a mermaid. I still pretend to this day. Not, y'know, that I'm a mermaid or anything. That would just be plain silly. Silly to imagine I'm a free-spirited beauty swimming carefree under the waves, just plain silly.

10. Speaking of creepy lost loves, I've just read up on Karl Tanzler, and have been debating casting an imaginary movie about his life. Would that be too real-life sensationalistic?

11. Great Gatsby, Scarlet Letter, Lord of the Flies. All books that everybody hates in high school that I actually liked.

11 Questions by Frankly My Dear

1. Ingrid Bergman or Greta Garbo?

Depends on my mood. When I want soulful and genuine, Ingrid. When I want enigmatic sensuality, Greta. Overall I'll pick Ingrid, though. Because her characters are more approachable, it follows that she herself is just a bit more approachable.

Did I also mention how science has proven she has the most adorable smile and girlish ways?

Though I highly admire Garbo for not giving no shit about such nonsense.

2. Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney?

What?! No! Come on! They're both like the best ever! Not only as actors, but apparently as human beings, too. Grrrrr.

Greedy, delusional Fred C. Dobbs or naively corrupt Tom Powers?

Guess I'll have to play the shallow game and pick the one I'd rather make out with. Jimmy, you're it.

Oh, Jimmy.

3. Julie Andrews or Judy Garland?

No contest. Judy all the way. Julie's got a heavenly voice and tons of class, but a little white bread for my taste. Judy, man, Judy just tears you apart and don't let go. From sweet Dorothy to nutty Hannah Brown (LOVE that character) to tremulous Vicki Lester, she got IT.

4. Cary Grant or Clark Gable?
Another really tough one. Very different types those two, acting wise and, frankly, sexy wise. You have overt masculinity in Gable, and a more foppish style in Grant. I personally find Gable more attractive (in my secret '30s version of Star Wars he'd be Han Solo), but this time I'll have to give the nod to Grant. More style, more humor, more durable career.

5. Deborah Kerr or Greer Garson?
Deb. She seemed to step out of the "Great Lady" role more often, and to chilling effect in movies like The Innocents.

6. Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire?
Had you asked me this when I was a kid and in love with Don Lockwood, I'd have easily picked Gene Kelly. However, with the hindsight of mature adulthood, I'm going with Astaire. The Cary Grant of dancers, what with his casual dandy appeal.

Also, I'd probably rather work with him than Kelly, from the sounds of it. Astaire would rescue me from where I cry under a piano and help me learn the steps that demanding Kelly yelled at me about.

7. Ava Gardner or Lana Turner?
Ava. Lana was lovely, but not too distinctive from other blonde starlets of the era. Although Ava strikes me as looking a little....shall I say...too harshly feline at times, there's no denying she's uniquely striking and sexy, in any era at any time. Plus, the more I read about her the more I like her personality. Swears like a sailor, but sticks with you true blue.

8. Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power
I've always been a bit more partial to Erroll. Tyrone's a handsome guy, but in a plastic Hollywood way that's a bit too reminiscent of Tom Cruise in his pre-crazy days. Even though if I was a young starlet I'd probably rather work with Tyrone, Erroll's got more magnetism.

9. Myrna Loy or Carole Lombard
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME AND WHY, RIANNA. WHYYYYY.

They're both my heroes! My role models! Everything I aspire to be and more!

It's...it's Nora...and Irene...choosing between them....Dave...what are you doing, Dave? Please, Dave. I can feel my mind going, Dave. Would you like to hear a song, Dave? "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer truuuuueeeee...."

Okay, okay. Uh....Myrna's personality offscreen, Carole's persona on? Not that Myrna's personality onscreen isn't luminous and Carole's off isn't either, but this is the only way I can reconcile my heart to pitting them against each other.

BOTH FLAWLESS SO BOTH GET PICTURES

10. Montgomery Clift or James Dean?
Hm. Guess I'll go with Clift. He had the longer career after all, what with, y'know, not dying till eleven years after Jimmy Dean. Though just let me watch East of Eden again and I can easily change my mind.

11. Katharine Hepburn or Bette Davis?
Oof. Oof. Not quite as bad as Myrna vs. Carole, but still! After much deliberation: Katharine for her younger years, Bette for later. It took Bette awhile to find her footing in those early days, while Katharine was bright and daffy and strong from the start. However, I'm not a huge fan of the noble old pixie with a heart of gold Katharine played in her older years, while I have a strange respect for how batshit Bette was willing to take her later camp roles.

Vanity? Who needs vanity?

11 Tags

Before I start, here's the disclaimer I always like to put when tagging my cyber-friends: I JUST WANT TO HONOR Y'ALL. IF IN FACT YOU DON'T WANT TO PLAY, NO BIGGIE. SOME PEEPS ARE LIKE THAT, AND I RESPECT YOUR DECISION. JUST SIT THERE AND BE FLATTERED IF THAT'S THE CASE. ALSO, IF YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN NOMINATED, UM...BE DOUBLY FLATTERED, OKAY?

I've also decided not to notify you with comments on your own sites...cuz I'm lazy and there are eleven of you? Just...if you see this and you want to post, have at it! There, that saves face.

*Say you liked a movie when you wrote about it, only to watch it later and realize it sucked, or you were too hard on a performance that in retrospect held a project together, etc. For me, I think I gushed a little too much about The Artist when it came out, and was too much a champion of its use of Vertigo's music. Looking back...what was the point of using the music? It just kind of distracted me, now that I think about it. (I was also too harsh on the '90s Revival of Dark Shadows.)

2. Favorite photograph of your favorite actor/actress?

3. Favorite film critic?

4. Least favorite film by favorite director?

5. Do you prefer foreign films dubbed or subtitled?

6. What common feature in classic Hollywood films would you have changed?

*Ex: Racism, sexism, all the smoking, etc.

7. Most misleading trailer/poster/overall marketing for a movie?

8. Which actors around today (if any) do you think will be considered true immortals fifty years from now, in the tradition of Garbo or Bogart?

9. Have you ever been put off by an actor, director, or producer's work by their obnoxious or offensive offscreen shenanigans, or do you think that's irrelevant to their body of work?

Thank you so much for saying that! I just read it Tues nite when I got back from the Newport Jazz Fest (Great). I've been floating since reading it, and now that I've gotten back to earth, I plan to post answers to your queries.

Hope to have something written by tomorrow (Fri) Thanks again!

P>S> I never got around to commenting, but I loved your choices for Val Lewton's Dark Shadows, esp. Karloff as Barnabbas and Tom Conway as Roger.

Aww thank you! Especially for the consideration when I have majorly sucked at blogging lately.

For some reason I imagine Ovaltine as something that really adorable 60s cartoons drink on commercial breaks. I can't for the life of me think what it might taste like or look like, so I'm going to pretend that you're a superhero who drinks it for reasons unknown to mere men.

About Me

Nerdin' it up on topics like film, books, cartoons, cake, etc. (only probably not really cake. Just trust I'm probably thinking about cake no matter what I post).
Questions? Concerns? Horrified outrage? Yell at me at worldoffsmile@gmail.com.